Henry Tuoba: "Oh?"
"You want to ask me if I'm serious about Grace? Whether I truly want to marry her, or if I'm just playing around in the mortal world."
Henry Tuoba didn't reply, but Evan Xiao had guessed right.
Suddenly, Evan Xiao grinned at Henry Tuoba. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm dead serious! In this life, it's her or no one!"
Henry Tuoba: "..."
Seeing Henry Tuoba's stiff expression, Evan Xiao's smile grew even wider. "The second condition is really simple. I'm sure Your Majesty won't have any issue with it. I'll take my leave now."
Henry Tuoba was dazzled by Evan Xiao's smile. By the time he snapped out of it, Evan had already left.
"So even gods can be this childish sometimes..." Henry Tuoba sighed.
...
Yan Capital sits by the sea.
The next day's contest was held by the seaside.
Grace, Minister Zhuo, Jason Zhuo, and the others went to the shore, only to find it packed with people.
There were all the officials from last night, along with their families.
Even more soldiers from the army.
Plus a bunch of commoners standing on the outskirts, just to watch the excitement.
Grace and her group squeezed in near the emperor, overhearing Henry Tuoba announce that, to keep things fair, today's challenge would be set by two highly respected elder princes.
The two elder princes first asked Henry Tuoba to present a prize.
Henry Tuoba pulled out a Spirit Jade the size of an egg, and placed it into a Dragon Brocade Pouch.
That Spirit Jade shimmered with dazzling five-colored light—it was a Celestial Spirit Jade!
The moment Grace saw the Celestial Spirit Jade, green light flashed all around her, and a bean sprout nearly popped out.
"What are you doing!" Grace hurried into the sanctum and stopped Beanie. "We can't just go around snatching other people's stuff, you know?"
Beanie's magic vine wrapped around her arm, shaking pitifully.
Beanie had grown up, and the spiritual energy from low-grade Spirit Jade wasn't pure enough anymore—it just couldn't satisfy it. Beanie felt absolutely starving.
"Listen, if Evan Xiao wins, I'll ask him for the Celestial Spirit Jade just to feed you, okay? But we can't go stealing it ourselves!"
Beanie's magic vine nodded, let go of her, and obediently shrank back.
The midday sun was blazing, so the green glow on her body wasn't that noticeable—no one paid any attention to her strange behavior.
The two elder princes asked Emperor Tuoba Hong for the prize and brought it to Redshore Island.
Redshore Island sat right in the middle of the sea, across from the coast where they stood. It was medium-sized, famous for its gravelly red sand.
"We've set up a magical array on the island," one of the elder princes announced. "It takes a hundred people working together to break through. The Emperor's prize is hidden inside the array. Got it?"
Both Evan Xiao and Prince Zane Tuoba nodded in understanding.
"Each of you will lead two squads of Flying Cavalry Corps—two hundred soldiers total. Whoever gets the Emperor's prize and makes it back here first wins. Go!"
So, Evan Xiao and Prince Zane Tuoba each led two hundred Flying Cavalry Corps members, flying off toward Redshore Island.
At first, both teams just raced ahead, determined to get in front.
Then, the fighting broke out. Soldiers from both sides clashed, and Flying Cavalry Corps members kept falling into the sea—it was intense!
"Evan Xiao's definitely going to lose!" Suddenly, Grace heard a voice.
She turned to look—it was Prime Minister Quentin Shaw, chatting with Minister Victor Zhao.
"Why do you think so?" asked Minister Victor Zhao.
"Blue Moon Kingdom doesn't have a Flying Cavalry Corps," said Prime Minister Quentin Shaw, looking wise. "How can a general who's never commanded them possibly lead them in battle?"
Minister Victor Zhao nodded. "Makes sense..."